BEAVER FALLS, Pa. — Geneva College converted a late penalty kick to defeat Marietta College 2-1 in men's soccer action Friday (Sept. 4) evening. The Golden Tornadoes overcame an early deficit and a lightning delay to improve to 2-0 overall. The Pioneers are 0-1 on the young season.
Marietta wasted no time grabbing the lead as the Pioneers scored on their first attack of the game.
Taylor Reasoner (Hudson/Hudson) took the first shot of the season and nailed the crossbar.
Andy Rolfes (Cincinnati/Princeton) buried the follow up shot in the back of the net for a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute.
The Pioneer goal served as a wake up call for Geneva who immediately turned up the offensive pressure. The Tornadoes fired off four straight shots forcing Marietta keeper
Tyler Sholl (Johnstown/Big Walnut) to make a pair of saves.
Mother Nature took over in the 23rd minute and the match was halted due to lightning. Once play resumed neither team managed a goal and the score remained 1-0 at halftime.
Geneva leveled the score in the 63rd minute. Alexander Rosenbaum sent a cross into the box to Nate Ferraco who beat Sholl for the goal.
Marietta had opportunities to regain the lead taking six corners in the second half. But the Pioneers were whistled for a foul inside the box with just over five minutes left in the match. Sean Bernardi converted the penalty kick for the 2-1 win.
Sholl went the distance in goal for Marietta making five saves. Luke Nolan had two saves for Geneva. The Tornadoes took 14 shots to eight for the Pioneers. Each team was awarded seven corners.
Marietta plays at Grove City College Saturday (Sept. 5) at 4:30 p.m. Fans can follow all the Pioneer teams all year long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter and Instagram.
